Hand prostheses partially restore hand appearance and functionalities. In particular, 3D printers have provided great opportunities by simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs. The “Federica” hand is 3D-printed and equipped with a single servomotor, which syner-gically actuates its five fingers by inextensible tendons; no springs are used for hand opening. A differential mechanical system simultaneously distributes the motor force on each finger in prede-fined portions. The proportional control of hand closure/opening is achieved by monitoring muscle contraction by means of a thin force sensor, as an alternative to EMG. The electrical current of the servomotor is monitored to provide sensory feedback of the grip force, through a small vibration motor. A simple Arduino board was adopted as the processing unit. A closed-chain, differential mechanism guarantees efficient transfer of mechanical energy and a secure grasp of any object, re-gardless of its shape and deformability. The force sensor offers some advantages over the EMG: it does not require any electrical contact or signal processing to monitor muscle contraction intensity. The activation speed (about half a second) is high enough to allow the user to grab objects on the fly. The cost of the device is less then 100 USD. The “Federica” hand has proved to be a lightweight, low-cost and extremely efficient prosthesis. It is now available as an open-source project (CAD files and software can be downloaded from a public repository), thus allowing everyone to use the “Fed-erica” hand and customize or improve it.
The “federica” hand / Esposito, D.; Savino, S.; Andreozzi, E.; Cosenza, C.; Niola, V.; Bifulco, P.. - In: BIOENGINEERING. - ISSN 2306-5354. - 8:9(2021), p. 128. [10.3390/bioengineering8090128]
The “federica” hand
Esposito D.
Primo
;Savino S.;Andreozzi E.;Cosenza C.;Niola V.;Bifulco P.Ultimo
2021
Abstract
Hand prostheses partially restore hand appearance and functionalities. In particular, 3D printers have provided great opportunities by simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs. The “Federica” hand is 3D-printed and equipped with a single servomotor, which syner-gically actuates its five fingers by inextensible tendons; no springs are used for hand opening. A differential mechanical system simultaneously distributes the motor force on each finger in prede-fined portions. The proportional control of hand closure/opening is achieved by monitoring muscle contraction by means of a thin force sensor, as an alternative to EMG. The electrical current of the servomotor is monitored to provide sensory feedback of the grip force, through a small vibration motor. A simple Arduino board was adopted as the processing unit. A closed-chain, differential mechanism guarantees efficient transfer of mechanical energy and a secure grasp of any object, re-gardless of its shape and deformability. The force sensor offers some advantages over the EMG: it does not require any electrical contact or signal processing to monitor muscle contraction intensity. The activation speed (about half a second) is high enough to allow the user to grab objects on the fly. The cost of the device is less then 100 USD. The “Federica” hand has proved to be a lightweight, low-cost and extremely efficient prosthesis. It is now available as an open-source project (CAD files and software can be downloaded from a public repository), thus allowing everyone to use the “Fed-erica” hand and customize or improve it.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
